Alloy framed 1911’s and alloy feed ramp

[Ivan the Butcher]

I built over 40 "parts" 1911's on Federal Ordinance alloy frames in the 80's & 90's. That is about the cheapest frame there ever was. It sounds to me like you don't have a frame issue. It sounds more like a follower and/or mag spring issue (overpowered). The synthetic or skirted followers are the affordable solution.

My personal gun with the cheap alloy frame along with several others I built had the "Dust Cover" (front section of the frame) crack and break off at the Slide Release hole. If broke off before the hole it is cosmetic only. If in the hole, the entire pistol can self-disassemble under recoil! I quit using those alloy frames and went to Essex steel frames.

Ivan

 

[SuperMan]

Have been carrying an alloy frame Commander in .38 Super since 1980.

The first one, a 1952 vintage gun came to me used in 1980 and was used for on and off duty carry as well as some IPSC matches. Zero issues with dinging up the feedranp...there is about 7k rounds through the gun.

In 2006 had a second 1952 Commander built with a full hard chrome finish from Accurate. It started being the #1 carry gun in 2007.

According to gun guru Chuck Taylor, Colt Commander frames were Coltalloy, an alloy of aluminum and titanium. Have had no less than a dozen Colt Commanders over the years in 9mm, Super and .45 with zero issues.

Pics:

1952 after 7k, 10 shots at 10 yards

Second 1952 still carried daily

1956 HC lower only

1951 and 1952 Commanders with HC

70s vintage .45 ACP high polished HC


That said, one of my friends had an early Kimber ProCarry .45 and the HP ammo badly dinged up the feedramp. They sent it to Accurate, had just the frame plated and no more dings...so the alloy that Kimber was using at the time was apparently much softer than the Coltalloy.

 

[Ingramite]

Polishing the feed ramp on an alloy frame is a no-no.

 

[Bruce51]

This information is great. I now know to choose magazines wisely when shooting my CLW.

Since the original magazine followers seem most likely to cause damage I will only use the mags with plastic followers.

While the Mec-Gar mag has a metal follower the front stays below the mag body so it should be ok as well.

Thank you for this post.

Bruce

 

[Old Corp]

One of the many things I admire on my Ruger SR1911 LW Commander is the titanium insert for the feed ramp - seems like a good idea, even though I only use WC mags.
This has been an absolutely flawless 1911 since getting it about 1.5 years ago. Have run about 1k of rounds through it of nearly every configuration - runs 100%. Feed ramp looks like it did upon un-boxing.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Long ago I had a Colt lightweight(aluminum frame) Commander in 45 acp. I shot oodles of Remington(WWII surplus)steel case ammo through it in addition regular 45 acp brass cased ammo.......The aluminum feed ramp was A NON ISSUE. It was just as smooth when I traded it as the day I bought it........Don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[alwslate]

The alloy frame .45 Commanders are like alloy J frame .38 specials. Carry a lot and shoot a little. I remember way back when Skeeter did an endurance test on a Lightweight .45 Commander and wrote about it in Shooting Times. After just a few thousand rounds of factory hardball the receiver broke in front of the trigger guard.

 

[Walter Rego]

Here's a photo of my Lightweight Commander that I sent the frame off to Ron Mahovsky at Metalife for their industrial hard chrome finish back in 1993. It's holding up very well although it doesn't get fired a lot. The slide stop, thumb safety, grip safety, mainspring housing and mag release are stainless parts from Wilson Combat or Ed Brown.

 

[Rock185]

My .45 ACP Commander was reliable from day 1, so I never did any reliability work. Over time and moderate use with standard pressure ammo, it started having feedway malfunctions. The feed ramp didn't ding up, but the very top of the frame ramp rounded over ever so slightly, allowing rounds to strike the bottom edge of the barrel throat, bringing things to an immediate halt. I didn't touch the alloy frame, but slightly throated the barrel, allowing rounds to feed normally. Were I looking for a new Commander type pistol now days, I think I'd see what might be available with a hard metal insert ramp, or ramped barrel..